Looking Deeper
by Taila22
Summary: With the arrival of a privately funded shuttle, detached from the corrupt influence of the RDA, Norm Spellman is given a second chance at the life he always hungered for. Norm/OC
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Avatar, it's awesomeness, or any of James Cameron's brain children, sadly. This is my first fan fiction, please be gentle with me...**

Norm took a long hard stare into the misted mirror in his wet room. With hands that shook slightly he neatly piled some shaving foam into his palm, rubbing it over what was now quite a substantial beard. Shaving was so much hassle when you had nobody to impress.. Every couple of months had been sufficient, if the fancy had taken him.

But now things were different. The craft had been spotted four hours ago, entering Pandora's orbit. Its predicted trajectory placed it for landing at Hell's Gate. It was small, no freighter. The anthropologist drew a sharp breath as he nicked himself with the razor blade. Best to hope it wasn't an RDA scouting mission. It had been five years almost to the day since Parker had left. Plenty of time for him to send a message back to Earth and get a new fleet ready.

Norm rinsed his face, pressing a towel to the cut on his jaw line. As he studied himself in the mirror he noted his hair was well past his ears now. Snatching up a pair of nail scissors from his personal hygiene pack he began to hack at it, cropping it as neatly as he could, so that the overall finish was rather windswept but shorter and tidier.

It was hard to remember the last time he had met a new face. He supposed it would have been Jake. Go figure that the guy in the wheelchair would end up turning his whole life upside down. Sure, at the time, staying on Pandora had seemed like the smartest move, rather than face the wrath of the RDA and his colleagues back on Earth. But steadily, over the weeks and months, it became clear to he and Max that life here as what would eventually be the only human presence in the compound wouldn't be a cakewalk either. The first thing to crop up was maintenance. Trying to run a power grid with two guys who had no engineering experience was damned difficult, and many nights were spent sleeping in Exopacs and sweltering heat, with no source of light but the emergency glowsticks they raided from the elevator lockers that were there in case the things jammed.

Then there was the issue of food. After four months the protein packs were gone, and although the Na'vi would bring them fresh kills from time to time, the meat was often bitter to human taste and didn't keep for long. There were gardens with a well stocked fruit supply but a high fibre, low protein diet led to many... complications.

Finally, the isolation. The other humans, one by one, had been brought into the Omaticaya clan and transferred by the grace of Eywa. As the only ones without an Avatar, and God, did Norm feel it since the death of his own, he and Max were eventually left in the compound alone, with infrequent visits from the Na'vi. It was hardly their fault though, he knew. They had so much to rebuild since Quaritch burned their homes, their history.

All in all it led to a less then easy life. It seemed unending, monotonous, and Pandora had slowly begun to feel highly over-rated.

But now. Now... Human contact. Hopefully civilised. As Norm headed out onto the tarmac to stand with Max, the shuttle from the ship burning through the layers of the moon's atmosphere, he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. As the still smoking shuttle touched down on the ground, he ran a hand through his hair, his whole body shaking with nerves. And as the door lowered he felt his face break into an enormous smile. Just three people emerged, two men, each in their late fifties, clothed in Khaki's and carrying an enormous white crate each, and a woman in denim shorts and a tank top, with what was unmistakably a cryo storage unit in each hand. Norm found himself bolting across the tarmac, stopping just short of the trio, and held out a calloused hand.

"Norm Spellman! You have no idea how glad I am to see you!" The woman put her cryo units on the ground and took Norm's hand in both of her own, shaking firmly, and shouting over the noise of the shuttle's cooling fans;

"Norm! Wonderful!" He was surprised to hear a smart English accent. "Where's mister Patel? I have something for both of you!" The anthropologist waved Max over, who shook each of the newcomer's hands in turn, his face like that of an excited child. The woman picked up her cryo units afterwards, tilting her head.

"Where is your link lab? I've got unloading to do." With a raised eyebrow Norm mumbled in return;

"I can show you. But, who are you?"

"Lydia Granger. These are my colleagues, Bill Cohen and Xavier Mendas. Please, if we could get into the lab, this really can't wait." The woman climbed back into the shuttle and shouted over her shoulder,

"Bill, I need you to shut down the brakes on all units! Roll out three first. " The shorter of the two men, with pepper grey hair and a broad nose, passed his crate to a stunned Max, then lumbered into the cockpit of the shuttle, and a few moments later there the sound of a high pressure gas release and a twelve foot long object rolled out, covered with a metallic tarp. Lydia ran alongside it, a small computer screen linked to the cargo in the palm of her hand. She whisked her fingers across the screen and turned it over once, and nodded.

"Everything looks good." Looking up at Norm, she wiped the screen of her Exopac. "Your link lab, please? I've got two more to follow. Mister Patel, if you could assist my colleagues, please." Looking slightly shocked Max nodded, glancing at Norm before he climbed into the shuttle with the second man, who was tall, bronzed, with Hispanic features and silvery streaks through his dark hair. With a touch of the screen she was holding, Granger's cargo began to roll forward, and she looked expectantly at Norm. The anthropologist nodded, and lugged Mendas' crate from the ground, swaying slightly under its weight. Shuffling along he mumbled,

"This way," trying not to stare at whatever it was the woman was rolling. As they entered the compound and took a lift up to the lab, an awkward silence hung between them. It had been such a long time since Norm had seen another human being aside from Max, and now they were here, there was nothing he could find to say. As they rolled into the lab, Granger pushed her cargo into one of the old Avatar pod docking points, and he felt his breath catch in his throat. She turned to face him and with a smile pulled off her mask, a flurry of red hair falling down her back as she did. Norm felt himself flush as he looked upon a pair of large blue eyes, pale skin with a dusting of freckles and a small, pink mouth that parted to reveal large, white teeth when she smiled as she was now.

"It's been a long time since you've spoken to anyone, hasn't it?" Norm felt his face flush deeper, and nodded, tugging off his own mask and gesturing to the covered object.

"Is that what I think it is?" Granger nodded, pulling back the tarp enough to dock the computer onto the end of what was now unmistakeably an Avatar pod. Norm felt a shiver go up his spine. He remembered the first time he had seen his Avatar. It was like seeing one of the Hindu gods that they had been named after, floating peacefully in an ethereal blue light. Rubbing his eyes, he sat down on the railing that ran in a circle at the centre of the lab.

"I'm sorry, but, who are you people? We've not had any contact with Earth since the Na'vi ran off Parker and now this.. It's making me nervous." Granger chuckled, pulling over a dusty chair and climbing on top of it and up onto the pod, starting to undo the tarp.

"I'm not with the RDA if that's what you're worried about. I'm out here as a professional. Doctor Augustine left quite a legacy on Earth, she had her followers. I was part of the Avatar program, due to take over when you came back from your rotation. The project is being maintained now by private investors. There are many people who still believe in the work Grace was doing. My company being one of them. They've sponsored my placement out here, along with Bill's, Xavier's, and our cargo."

Norm raised an eyebrow, tilting his head.

"Which company is that?"

"B.F.R.D.N. Biochemical Facility for the Research and Development of the Neurosciences. I'm an MD. I'm here to treat the Na'vi and research the ability of their queues. Scientists back home are hoping it might offer clues as to the treatment of certain neurological disorders, such as Autism. " Norm blinked a few times, taking this in.

"What about the RDA? There's an energy crisis on Earth, what are they doing in regards to Pandora? I can't see them staying away long..." Granger shook her head with a small sigh.

"They're looking into deposits on the secondary and tertiary moons. They're not as plentiful but it should buy the Na'vi time.. I don't know what happens after that.." The doctor let out another sigh, scooching along the pod to undo more of the tarp's strapping. As she did she looked up again with a bright smile. "Hey, you should have a look in that storage unit. I've got something in there for you and mister Patel." Obediently Norm unclipped the unit, a hiss of cool air escaping it. Pushing off the lid he felt himself let out an involuntary gasp.

"Holy moly, chicken!" Granger laughed, slipping off of the pod.

"We've brought fertilised embryos with us to give us a sustainable source of protein. There's more goodies in the other lockers." Norm looked up from the unit, beaming at the woman.

"This is manna from heaven!" Granger chuckled, then turned to the pod, taking a corner of the tarp.

"I can top that, if you want." The anthropologist nodded eagerly, clipping the lid back onto the unit. The woman grinned and with a flourish pulled the tarpaulin off of the pod. Norm felt his jaw drop and jumped up, pressing against the glass.

"Oh my God.." Norm could feel his eyes welling up as he looked upon the Avatar inside, the high forehead and smooth line of the jaw unmistakable.

"Your DNA was still on file. After we heard about the accident and you two being left here, building you Avatars became top priority. Max's will be docking next." Granger put a hand on his shoulder with a gentle smile.

"I'm gonna be free again," he whispered, running his fingers over the glass.

"That was the general idea." Granger patted him on the back, turning to leave the lab. "I've got to dock the others. Stay here if you want, get acquainted. Xavier will have dinner ready for you in the mess in an hour."

* * *

That night Norm and Max sat down to what without doubt was the greatest meal of their lives. As they wolfed down a plateful of chilli, with real beef in it and baked potatoes, God what luxury, Granger and her two colleagues talked excitedly at them about Pandora. It turned out Bill and Xavier were there to supervise the linkings and train up Max. The doctor herself was planning to take her Avatar out to the Omaticaya's new settlement and offer medicine in exchange for education. It all sounded so simple when she put it like that.

"But you know them, right, Norm? I mean, they let you visit the Tree of Souls." Norm lifted his head, swallowing a mouthful of potato with some difficulty.

"Yeah. Jake's their boy though."

"Well, I'm going to be decanting the blues tonight. We can link up tomorrow, providing you pass your physical." Norm's eyes widened, blurting through a mouthful;

"Physical?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much to everyone who is reading. I feel all warm and fuzzy that people are peeking their heads in to take a look. Here's chapter two, it's very long I'm afraid.. I found I started writing and it just kept flowing. I don't own Avatar, Pandora, James Cameron's brain, James Cameron's left foot, James Cameron's left nostril, or anything to do with him.**

Norm stared very hard at a spot on the infirmary wall as Granger applied the ECG pads to his chest. Looking at the readings on the machine she frowned slightly.

"Blood pressure is a little high, Doctor Spellman.. Temperature too. Though given the climate I can forgive you both, providing neither increase." She made a few notes on the clipboard she was holding, then reached to a tray, picking up a reflex hammer. "Relax, if you would please, Doctor Spellman." With short, sharp taps she checked his knees, elbows, shoulders and thighs, before picking up a small torch and checking his pupillary response. "Reflexes are good, well done. If you could just come and stand on the digi-scales now please."

Norm got to his feet, hitching up his shorts protectively as he stepped onto the scales. Granger flicked an image across a glass computer screen, a set of blue numbers appearing and flickering up and down for a few moments before settling.

"One hundred and thirty eight pounds.. Hm. Hang on a moment." The doctor got to her feet, picking up a small plastic tube and linking it up to the screen. "If you could just blow into this please." Norm obediently did so, feeling slightly light headed as he finished. Granger looked up at the screen as the results racked up and shakes her head.

"Ketosis.. You're malnourished, I'm afraid Doctor Spellman. Not drastically, but we need to up your protein intake. We're going to have to throw in a few packs a day." Norm made a disdainful face.

"I hate those things.." he mumbled.

"I hear you. But it's the quickest way to get your weight up. You can step off the scales now." Granger got to her feet, pulling the ECG pads off of his chest gently. "You're not the healthiest individual I've seen but there's nothing to stop you linking up. I want to do weekly checkups with you though." She grabbed Norm's shirt off of the bench he'd been sat on before, handing it to him. "Head on down to the lab, Max will get you settled." Norm nodded eagerly, tugging the shirt over his head and sprinting out of the infirmary and down to the link lab, to find Max standing by an open unit.

"You good to go?" he asked, looking as excited as Norm felt himself.

"Just got the all clear. How is it looking?"

"Really healthy, it's almost a duplicate of the one you had before. A little heavier, maybe. She did a good job." Max grinned, patting the unit bed.

"Good luck!" Norm eagerly leapt into the bed, noticing there was a bit more room around him than before.

"See you on the other side," he beamed, closing his eyes as Max closed the lid. As he settled on the bed he could hear a light ticking sound, and the low hum of the unit communicating with his Avatar. Trying to keep his breathing steady he saw the first few flashes of light and next thing he knew he was being launched through a flurry of colour at a million minds an hour, before slamming into his new body.

Opening his eyes Norm saw Cohen looking down at him, shining a light and clicking his fingers next to his new sensitive ears. In what felt like a blur he helped him to sit up, doing all the motor control tests that they'd been subjected to a thousand times in Avatar training. Norm found himself feeling entirely comfortable, as though he'd just woken up after the best night's sleep of his life. When he was finally allowed to stand he was handed a packet of super-size clothes, and informed by Cohen that Granger would be meeting him out on the old basketball court. He dressed carefully, swaying a little. It was going to take him a while to get used to these long limbs again.

When he had buttoned up his cotton pants and pulled on the new, loose fitting t-shirt and over-sized sandals, he went out of the airlock adjacent to the medical room where he'd woken, and took a deep breath of the gloriously clean air. Unable to resist the temptation he jogged a few laps around the court, feeling himself settle into the new muscles and bones. It had been so long since he'd had this liberation, this strength. He felt as though he could run a thousand miles.

Finally, when he could feel the first unpleasant strains of exertion, he sat in the middle of the court and gazed longingly at the forests of Pandora that sprawled before him, just a few hundred yards from the abandoned Samsons and mech suits. The Omaticaya were running free out there somewhere, almost naked with the sun on their backs, riding the wind to hunt...

"Oel ngati kameie, Toktor Spellman!"

Norm jumped at the greeting and skittered to his feet, turning around to make the long practised reply flourish to the owner of the voice.

"Oel ngati kameie." When he looked up he took a long, self-indulgent moment to stare at the being before him. The unfamiliar Na'vi, which within a split second he realised was an Avatar by its billowy white cotton human pants and beaded shirt tied into a knot under the bust, stood looking at him with large gold eyes, her lips parting in a smile to reveal larger than average teeth.

"Doctor Granger," he breathed. And as he looked at her now, she was unmistakeable. Her freckles replaced with the pale markings that would light up as the sun fell, the thick hair with the natural wave at the bottom that approached a full curl at the tips. In the glare of the sun he could even see a slight sheen of auburn shot through the glossy black mane. She laughed, pulling a blue band off of her wrist and deftly looped her hair into a messy bun with it, her thick braid tipped with the queue languishing down her back.

"I did say _we _would be linking up today," she chuckled. "Or did you forget?"

"It didn't really sink in," Norm replied with a shy grin. "Not a lot of the last twenty four hours has yet."

"Well, I hope that you come back down to Earth fast, because you and I are going to the Omaticaya today, and I need you to act as guide." Norm felt his eyes widen as he habitually hitched his pants.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. I came here to work, Doctor Spellman, and work I shall. Xavier is off to warm up a Samson as we speak." She crossed over the court to Norm, swinging a pack off of her shoulder as she did. "In here I have basic medical supplies. Nothing fancy. For now I am hoping they will just let me close enough to treat them. I daren't even think about administering drugs. I need your help Norm. My Na'vi is good but yours is better and they know your face." Norm nodded slowly, hearing a set of engines sputter into life in the vehicle yard.

"We're better to land well outside the area and start walking.. If they see the ship they'll attack it." Granger smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"See? This is why I need you." With that she shouldered her pack again and walked purposefully towards the Samson that was bursting into life over in the yard. "Try to keep up, Doctor Spellman!" The anthropologist blinked then burst into a run after her, and as they reached the hover ship he helped her load in her kit bag. He waved to Xavier as he climbed in with the doctor, and as he strapped himself into his seat he jittered with excitement. Granger looked at him with a laugh, leaning over to put his headphones on as the Samson lifted smoothly off of the ground. As she clipped on her own, Norm tugged down his mic and said into it,

"Can this guy do anything?"

"He's ex marine corps," the woman replied. "Ask him nicely and he'll show you how to press your pant suits properly too!" Xavier looked back from the cockpit with a thumb up and Norm smiled, leaning out of the open side of the vehicle to look down at the tree tops as they passed over them. The yellow sun reflected back off of the canopy, warming his face. Far beneath if he knew there was damp, lush ground with flowers the size of men and lean bodied creatures flourishing. As the Samson followed a river and burst out into the open into the wake of a great waterfall, Norm began to recognise the territory. Beneath the aircraft a flock of bright green, tiny, featherless bird-like creatures swelled and rode the air currents it produced. As they looped over the top of the Samson, narrowly missing the wind shield, Norm hung further and further out of the open side, gazing at the water rushing away beneath them. Many of the little viridian creatures were darting down and snapping up glimmering silver fish from the surface, tossing them up into the air before swooping back down again to catch them and eat them, as though playing a game. He twisted to look up into the sky and saw more of them whirling in the wind, flecks of jade in the sky. Eventually they dived at a dramatic speed and stopped just short of the water, their wings skimming the surface as they beat them frantically to speed along above it. Norm felt a tap on his shoulder and looked back to see he was being offered a pair of binoculars by Granger. With an appreciative nod he took them, peering down at the birds until they were wiped out of sight by a rapidly thickening fog.

Norm straightened himself in his seat again, peering upwards and felt his chest tighten as the familiar shadows of the Hallelujah Mountains came into vision. He glanced at Granger who was simply sat gazing at them in awe.

"The pictures just don't do them justice," she breathed into her mic. Norm felt himself smiling and replied,

"Imagine the view from an Ikran." Granger flashed him a smile, brushing a few strands of wind buffeted hair out of her eyes.

"Sully is a lucky bastard."

"I couldn't agree more!"

Finally the Samson began to descend and touched down upon the thick vegetation of the forest undergrowth. Granger swung herself out of the craft eagerly, hefting her pack onto her pack. With a nod to Xavier he shut of the engines, and Norm shuffled out behind her, seizing a pair of com straps. Passing one to the woman he clipped the other around his own throat and looked back at Xavier, who said

"Test," crisply into his mic a few times. Granger and Norm both nodded that they could hear him, then she turned to the anthropologist.

"What now, Doctor Spellman?"

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying not to be distracted by the birdcalls he could hear emitting from the vegetation.

"Grace used to say they were watching us. I guess we just... walk. The Tree of Souls is this way, to the north east."

"Well, if we head that way we'll certainly attract their attention. Off we go then." Norm blinked in surprise as she broke into a brisk jog, her sandaled feet light upon the ground. Taking a second to collect himself he ran after her, feeling under kitted and soon enough, unfit. It appeared even a Na'vi body could struggle when not used to a rigorous exercise regime. As they ran through the dense undergrowth he found himself panting for breath, and slowly losing ground on Granger as he indulged in stopping to look at fungi, fallen feathers, strangely pigmented vegetation. Eventually she dropped back, standing upon a large raised root, her hands on her hips with an expression of both amusement and disdain upon her face.

"Having fun, are we?" she called jibingly down to him, though there was no malice in it. He ran up the roots to her, something encased within his hands.

"Look," he breathed, opening his fingers just a fraction. Granger brought her face close to peer into them and with a smile Norm cautiously opened his hands. With a sudden hum a tiny lizard burst from his palms, a large fan on its back whirling around and lifting it into the air. Norm let out a laugh, looking at the female. "Neat, huh?" She nodded with a smile, then reached for his arm, pulling him up to stand beside her.

"We've been walking for nearly three hours now, Doctor Spellman. Wouldn't we normally have been jumped upon by now?" He frowned slightly, looking up into the forest canopy.

"I could try something.. I don't know what good it will do but.." Granger cocked her head.

"What?"

Norm took a deep breath. Feeling very foolish, he tipped his head back and let out a few short, sharp shrieks, like the ones he had heard Neytiri and Jake make when riding their Ikrans. The doctor stared at him in anticipation, then up at the trees above, waiting for a response. After a minute or so Norm lowered his face, sighing.

"I dunno what I expected to happen," he admitted, looking at Granger with shame. She patted his shoulder with a friendly smile.

"It was wor-"

The doctor was cut off by an almighty, primal roar, quickly echoed by a second voice, as a pair of Ikran burst through the forest canopy and landed expertly on the forest floor. An agitated voice shouted;

"Who confuse my Kanoi? He try to throw me from his back!"

Norm let out a triumphant whoop, bursting into a run down from the roots and at the Ikran with the rider who spoke.

"Neytiri!" he shouted, leaping onto the rider as she dismounted with a bear hug. There was the sound of hissing and a few moments later he was on the ground, pinned by the lithe blue figure of the Omaticaya princess, her tail swishing side to side dangerously. The second Ikran rider dismounted and gave a sharp shout in Na'vi, then offered a hand to the felled Norm. Neytiri reluctantly climbed off of him and stared at him with her ears flat against her head for a few moments, before something dawned on her and her eyes widened.

"Jake! It is our Normspellman!"

Granger watched from her spot upon the roots, mouth open slightly, as she witnessed two of the Omaticaya clan leaders embraced Norm like family. As the male of the pair broke away, laughing and inspecting Norm with curiosity, picking up his tail and turning him around, she realised that she was staring at Tom Sully's Avatar. No. Jake Sully. His brother. And an Avatar no longer...

She gradually became aware that Norm was calling to her, the other two looking up at her with a feral intensity, as though trying to look under her skin at what intentions lay beneath. The anthropologist was waving her over with a lop-sided smile, looking like a goofy kid between the two regal figures. Lydia Granger found herself feeling very small and lacking in confidence.

Taking small, cautious steps, she shuffled down from the safety of her roots and bowed her head low, touching her forehead and saying quietly,

"Oel ngati kameie," before bring her hand away with a little flourish to Neytiri and Jake in turn. After a few moments she nervously lifted her face, making eye contact with the princess, who looked back at her coolly.

"You are a sky person," she said, a sharp edge to her voice. Granger glanced at Jake, who gave her a small, encouraging smile. The features, where once they had been so familiar from spending years of her life with his brother Tom, now seemed perfectly Na'vi, his braided hair and sun-weathered face making him look every part Omaticaya. She looked back to Neytiri and said in as humble as voice as she could;

"I am not one of those who came before. I come with two more men. We came to learn from the People. To offer medicine to you." Neytiri let out a derisive snort.

"We have medicine." Norm looked between the two women, then piped up;

"She wants to learn Na'vi medicine to help her People, Neytiri. She's trying to save them."

"From what?" The Princess looked sharply at Norm, who cleared his throat and replied;

"From their insanity. She wants to teach all Sky People the lessons you gave Jake, and the others you have brought into the Omaticaya."

Neytiri looked long and hard at Granger, who looked back at her as assertively as she dared.

"You will come to settlement with us. Tsahik will decide what to do with you." She turned to Norm, who just smiled admiringly back at her. "You will come also. She will be glad to see you. You will eat with us." Norm beamed up at the princess, then at Granger, who mouthed 'thank you' to him. Neytiri meanwhile looked to her mate.

"I will take the female. You can carry Norm, yes?" Jake nodded with a wicked smile, and looked at his friend.

"I hope you don't have issue with heights?"

"Why?" Norm's eyes widened slightly as he watched the clan leader jump up onto his banshee and offer an arm down.

"Get on. We're not gonna leave you to walk. There are viper wolves out here, you know."

That was persuasion enough for Norm, who lumbered up onto the obedient beast, clinging onto the end of its antennae for dear life. Neytiri took Granger's arm, steering onto the back of her own Ikran and looping her arms in securely.

"Do not let go," she said simply, pulling down her goggles. Granger looked across at Norm, a flash of terror in her eyes. She let out a shriek as the beasts beat their wings and lumbered off of the ground. She gripped Neytiri's waist tightly, her fingers squeezing on Kanoi's antennae, her eyes rammed shout. As the wind beat her face and she fought with all her strength to stop herself from falling off the Ikran's back as it rippled with muscular strain underneath her, she could hear Norm's exhilarated shouts. At least someone was having a good time.

After what seemed like an agonizingly long flight, though it could only have been a few minutes at most, Granger felt the heavy thud of the landing shake her thighs. As Neytiri peeled herself out of the doctor's grasp, she cautiously opened her eyes to find Norm running towards her.

"That was better than a Pa'li!" he cried with delight as he skittered to a stop. Granger pulled a grim smile, and slid off of the Ikran's back, feeling her legs shake underneath her. Norm saw the look on her face and gently took off her pack, swinging it over his own shoulder.

"Come on," he said softly, "Come meet them." Carefully he put a hand on the small of her back, steering her into the new Omaticaya village.


	3. Chapter 3

**A big thank you to all the people who are reading! I don't own Avatar, but I do think about it, listen to it's music, look at it's pictures, read it's fanfics, and occsionally dream I'm a Na'vi who falls outta a tree and squashes her own tail....**

Granger stood shoulder to shoulder with Norm under the scrutinous eyes of Tsahik Mo'at. Blood was pooling under each of their shirts where the wise woman had taken her bone needle and pricked them to taste them. Turning to look at her daughter, she spoke in a low stream on Na'vi that sounded like running water. Norm translated to Granger in a whisper;

"She is asking why they should trust you... You came in from the sky like others before. She's worried you're the start of a new invasion." The woman shook her head a fraction, letting out a sigh.

"How do I make her trust me?"

"Given our treatment, I think I know where this is going," Norm breathed, glancing at Jake, who gave him a reassuring grin in return. "I really thought I'd just be here for dinner.."

There was a sudden yelp from the Tsahik who whirled around, the other Na'vi circled around the small group shouting in response. She lifted a slender hand, pointing with an unshaking finger at the Avatars before her.

"We will teach you, Lydi'agranger, with Normspellman. We will look at your medicine. We have saved other Sky People. If Eywa chooses, you will become one of them." Mo'at had stepped closer as she spoke, until her nose was almost touching the doctor's. Norm looked at the Tsahik, shell-shocked as he realised that his years of hoping, pleading, were finally coming to fruition. Glancing at Granger he saw her shrinking under Mo'at's intense gaze and silently touched the back of his hand to hers in a comforting gesture. The Na'vi elder broke into a devious smile and said in a low voice;

"My daughter. My son. Dress them."

Norm felt Jake take his upper arms firmly, pulling him away from his companion.

"Hey!" he cried. "Take it easy!"

"Be submissive," Jake breathed to his friend. "It'll do you a lot of favours with them."

Neytiri pulled off Granger's pack, leaving it at Mo'at's feet, and began steering the doctor away slightly more gently. She was whispering in her ear, trying to soothe the woman's increasingly evident discomfort. Norm watched them disappear into the throng of the Omaticaya and whirled to look at Jake.

"What the hell?! She only wanted to come talk to them, Jake!" The Ole'eytkan shook his head, steering his friend along through the new settlement. As he walked under protest, he looked over his head, taking it in.

The Omaticaya had moved from the Tree of Souls a few weeks after the dust had settled from the war with the RDA. Their first step had been to find a new giant tree, and the one they had chosen was about thirty miles south of the Tree of Souls and most likely related to the original Hometree. However, it was not as large, which would make it a few thousand years younger. That being the case, the village spilled out of the bottom from between the columned roots, with an assortment of woven fibre shelters, in between them smallish fire pits dug into the grey soil. Some of them had fires already burning in them and children were crouched over them, prodding them with sticks and playing with the curls of ash that fluttered up.

Once inside the tree there were the same inner columns and central spiral as Hometree had. As he was pushed up the spiral Norm saw strings of meat hanging off outlaying branches, being smoked by the huge fire pit that was in the centre of the tree on the ground. It was a communal fire, one of both practical and spiritual means, and was always burning.

Further up, as they began to reach foliage, there were the woven hammocks. They varied in size, and Norm realised some of them were built for more than one individual. He recalled learning about how the Na'vi slept communally and it was very rare for anyone to spend the night alone.

Finally, as Norm's calves began to burn, Jake stopped nudging him. They'd come to a broad branch, perhaps five foot in diameter. Risking a look down, Norm saw the pin pricks of the fires far beneath him, and swallowed. He turned to look at Jake, who gave him a small, not entirely comforting smile.

"I thought this was what you wanted," he said.

"It was," Norm fumbled, "It is! But, Jake. I am supposed to be Granger's guide, looking out for her, and I think you guys just managed to scare the life outta her." The anthropologist rubbed his forehead, sighing. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be ungrateful. I want this more than anything, you know that. But I don't know if Granger does."

Jake wandered down the branch, disappearing into the leaves towards the end. Norm looked up and realised he could see ribbons of cloth fluttering between the foliage.

"She'll be ok, Norm. If she really wants to try and exchange knowledge with the Omaticaya she needs to be considered worthy of it by them first." The Ole'eytkan emerged with a wicked smile, tossing a bundle of fabric to his friend. "As for you, it's like you're coming home. You belong here with us."

Norm managed a smile, feeling his face warm slightly. He glanced down at the fabric and let out a low groan. Jake burst into laughter, walking past him and clapping him on the shoulder.

"You'll get used to it!" he chuckled, stooping to enter the tree core once more. "Don't be too long, we'll all be waiting to inspect you two."

"Oh, gee, thanks Sully. Like I didn't feel uncomfortable before." Norm wrinkled his nose as he heard Jake's laughter echoing back up long after he'd left and with a heavy sigh put the bundle at his feet, beginning to pull off his t-shirt. Na'vi life was not as dignified as his training had made him believe.

* * *

As Norm descended to the central fire pit, tail swishing frantically in embarrassment, he could feel hundreds of pairs of yellow eyes boring into him, inspecting every inch of him. This was easy enough now he wore only a loin cloth and a few beads on his upper arms. In his arms he carried his tailor folded human design clothing, his sandals neatly placed on top. As he approached Jake, feeling the tip of his tail occasionally tap another Na'vi and drawing a hiss from them, he saw his friend touch his own throat. With a jolt of remembrance, Norm reached up and unclipped his com strap, putting it on the top of the pile. When he reached the stern figure of Mo'at he offered the clothes to her. She took them with a silent nod, then turned and promptly threw them into the fire pit. Norm let out a small cry, which was silenced by a look from Jake. He folded his hands over his loincloth protectively, lowering his face, his ears twitching as he heard Neytiri's voice.

"She is ready, Tsahik." Norm risked a glance sideways and his eyes fell upon Lydia's diminutive form. She was stood beside the proud princess, staring at her own clothes in her arms. She was holding them close to her chest and Norm realised she was ashamed. In much the same attire as him she had a lot more modesty to worry about... She seemed to defy Neytiri for a moment as the princess took her clothes from her, her fingers clinging to the white fabric of the pants. Finally though, she relinquished, and watched helplessly as Mo'at burned her last shred of humanity too. Norm noted she was without her com strap and guessed Neytiri had seen to that.

She was clothed in a cream loincloth and barely covering her breasts were a pair of feathered necklaces, in an array of blues, violets and greens. She didn't lift her eyes as she was escorted by the arm to stand beside Norm, her thick hair falling over her shoulders and hiding the profile her face. Taking a deep breath he looked up straight at Mo'at with all the confidence he could, to try and encourage Granger. The Tsahik gave him a touch of what could be a smile and said in her heavily accented English;

"You look like the People now. It is a start. You must learn fast and learn well. Prove to me that you are worthy of being brought into our home. Lydi'a, Norm, go now to your education." Granger looked up suddenly, and saw Neytiri pulling her father's bow over her chest.

"Come."

With that she burst into a sprint, making a rift between the gathered Omaticaya and running out into the forest. Norm cocked his head, watching her shrinking form, then let out a gasp and grabbed Granger's hand, running in Neytiri's wake and pulling the doctor with him. Jake watched them go and with a wry smile said softly to himself,

"They are going to be hurting tonight."

* * *

Out in the forest Norm kept his hand firmly locked on Granger's, running alongside her as they flew over the ground, trying to keep up with Neytiri. Of course it was an impossible task, and was surely intended to be. But they ran regardless, watching for the flash of blue skin, the rustling of leaves, the whip of a tail as it vanished into the undergrowth. Granger covered her chest with her free arm as she ran, pinning down the feathers. She could feel her soft new feet burning as they pounded the ground, being caught by stone, sting and root. Norm was calling for her to keep going, his voice hoarse with panting. She could see his skin becoming darker blue, burning up with the exertion, and gradually she was the one leading him, struggling to pull him along. When he finally stopped she wheeled round to face him, letting out a hiss that surprised herself.

"What are you doing?!"

Norm doubled over, letting go of the female's hand and taking in deep breaths.

"I can't...keep going, Doctor Granger... I'm sorry." Granger growled, pushing his shoulders to make him stand up straight.

"If we lose her our Avatars are dead out here! These are very expensive pieces of technology, Spellman!" With an agitated grunt she turned around, looking at the direction where Neytiri may have headed. "I don't know what to do now. Do you know how to track her, because I certainly don't!"

Norm stiffened, his facial expression one of hurt.

"You want to learn from them, right?" he said in a low voice.

"I want to learn their anatomy, Norm," she replied in exasperation. "I want to understand their neuron pathways, their connections with each other, with Pandora. I'm a doctor; I'm here to learn about their physiology!"

Norm rubbed his face in exasperation.

"Don't you hear yourself?" he sighed. "You're out here, having been given the chance to join the Omaticaya one day and you're looking straight through it. Neytiri is going to show you how they connect to Eywa, to the forests. She's going to show you all you need to know but you have to actually listen to her!" He looked down at Granger, chest heaving. She looked back up at him, eyes wide, and wet her bottom lip before replying.

"I'm sorry, Norm... I didn't mean..."

"I know you didn't," he said softly, "just, have a little faith. This is what you need, Doctor Granger." He gave her a small, lop-sided smile, and was glad to see that the woman returned it. Reaching up she retied her hair into its bun again, collecting the loose strands that had fallen over her face, and pulled her braid over her shoulder.

"Well then. We need to find the princess."

With perfect timing a figure landed upon the ground before them, straightening up to her full height and shaking her head.

"You are children. Like all others before. I watched you from above for many minutes and you do not even hear me." Neytiri rapped Norm over the head with the fletched end of one of her arrows. "You give up too easy. I did not expect this. You are veteran, act like it!" The Na'vi slipped the arrow back into her quiver, tutting. "Tomorrow, we will run further. You must learn to keep up. Tonight I shall be slow to lead you home. Do not fall behind." She nodded to them and moved into a smooth jog through the foliage. Silently Norm and Granger followed, attempting to maintain a steady pace, and almost succeeding. As they emerged from the jungle and entered the giant tree, they saw that the Omaticaya were gathering for their evening meal in the dusk of the day, sitting around the fire pit. Neytiri led the pair to a quiet corner in the increasing shadows and two small portions of food were passed back to them.

"Irayo," Norm mumbled to the Na'vi who stared at Granger curiously as he passed the food back. He felt his tail snapping from side to side and picked it up, putting it in his lap to try and control it. The stranger Na'vi nodded at the female a couple of times and settled back into his own seat. Granger quietly picked at her food, distracted by the bioluminescent dots that were beginning to gleam on the back of her hands. She was turning them in the firelight, smiling as she noticed how they reacted and dimmed or pulsed in accordance with how much light they were exposed to.

"Wonderful," she breathed.

When the meal was done and the majority of the Omaticaya had already retreated for the night, Neytiri approached the pair.

"Lydi'a, you will sleep with the women, Normspellman with the men." She offered a hand to Granger, who took it to get up and looked at Norm. "Go the way you went with Jake before. You will find your own Eywa k'sey nivi'bri'sta for now." With a brief nod she led the other woman away and Norm watched them climb the central spiral until they were out of side before beginning his own ascent. Despite knowing that his sleep here would not be real, he was looking forward to a brief moment of rest.

**Please review, folks! Any feedback it greatly appreciated as it helps me improve my writing.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A big thank you to my readers and reviwers. Just a couple of quick things:**

**Jack the Reaper: I went back and chancged those spelling issues, thanks very muchly.**

**Beatleboy62: "Eywa k'sey nivi'bri'sta" is the Na'vi term for hammock. Literally translated it means "Safe in the arms of Eywa."**

**Please review folks, it helps me a lot!**

Granger felt an unpleasant jolt as she opened her eyes in her unit, as though she'd been falling in a dream. Breathing deeply she pushed open the top, Cohen standing over her.

"Take it slowly, Doctor Granger," he said soothingly, pushing up the neural interface cage. "It's not like the simulations."

"I'd noticed," she replied, using her elbows to push herself up. Bill lifted her chin, taking a pen torch out of his pocket and shining it into her eyes.

"You're fine. Make sure you rehydrate. You've been in there for seven hours." Granger nodded, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and slipping her shoes on. Cohen crossed the lab to the other functioning link unit, glancing at the internal camera attached. Norm was coming around inside, opening his eyes blearily. Cohen popped the clamshell lid, helping him sit up.

"Easy does it, there we go." He shone the pen torch in the anthropologist's eyes, then gave him a clap on the back. "You're good, you're good. You and Doctor Granger get on down to the mess, get something to eat. You look about ready to drop." With a hand under Norm's arm he helped him to his feet, Granger appearing from around her link unit, closing the lid. She looked up at Norm and took his arm from Cohen, gently steering him towards the lift.

"You too, hm?" she asked. As they entered the lift and it began to move smoothly downwards, Norm nodded.

"Like I've been hit by a truck," he mumbled, the colour draining from his face as the lift moved.

In the mess Granger settled him onto a bench and he flopped forwards, resting his forehead on the cool steel of the table. The woman disappeared into the kitchens and a few minutes later came back with a pitcher of water, two cups, and a silver pouch. She sat on the bench next to the exhausted Norm, setting the things down and poured him a large drink of water, nudging his elbow with it.

"Here," she said, "Sip it, don't gulp." He lifted his head with a low word of thanks and quietly drank, his eyes half closed. Granger poured herself one, taking a few sips, then set down her glass and picked up the pouch. On one edge there was a plastic nib, like a miniature bottle cap, and she twisted it off, holding the open pocket out to Norm.

"Today's flavour is strawberry," she said. "Bottoms up."

Norm took the protein pack with a grimace.

"You're testing me, aren't you?" he said.

"That's the first of three today, doctor's orders" Granger smiled, picking up her glass again. Her companion paused, then sucked the contents of the protein pack out, trying not to gag as he swallowed the sickeningly sweet and artificial tasting gel. When he was done he set the empty foil pocket on the table with a shudder and drained his glass of water. Granger nodded in approval.

"You'll be grateful for it at your next weigh in, Doctor Spellman," she said, pouring him another glass of water.

As they sat recuperating they heard the hiss of the elevator doors opening, and Max staggered in, his pallor green. Cohen followed behind him and settled him onto the bench opposite Granger and Norm.

"I don't know how you do it," he mumbled to Norm, swaying slightly as Cohen brought over a third glass and poured a new glass of water.

"Mister Patel here experienced his first simulation today," he said to the others simply. Norm managed a grin, glancing at Granger, who smirked back.

"It's like I've got a hangover on the Devil's vodka," Max said hoarsely, picking up his glass and drinking vivaciously. Granger raised an eyebrow, and looked over at the lift as the doors opened yet again and Xavier emerged from it.

"There you guys are!" he said, in slightly stunted English. "I've been trying to get you guys on the radio all day. Where the Hell were you?" He sat heavily next to Max, who went greener as he felt the bench shudder. Norm straightened up in his seat. The colour was returning to his face and as he spoke he was beginning to look healthier.

"We found the Omaticaya! They brought us into the Hometree, and we spoke to the clan elders, and, well, they took our clothes... Including our coms..." Norm trailed off with an embarrassed laugh as Xavier gave him a devious smile.

"Took your clothes, huh?" he said, glancing at Granger with a wink.

"Oi!" she cried, and kicked him sharply under the table. Xavier laughed, rubbing his shin.

"Hey, Doc, what did I say?!" The woman got to her feet, smirking at her friend and swinging her leg out over the bench to get out.

"Don't be giving me the hairy eyeball, you," she replied, wandering to the kitchen. Xavier laughed, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. Norm looked at him, cocking his head.

"Are you and the doctor..?" Xavier looked back at him and snickered.

"Me and Lydia? No way!" he shook his head, smirking. "We've just known each other a long time. She threw blue paint in my face once when she was a kid. I used to work for the RDA, y'know." Norm's eyes widened and he felt himself stiffen. "Just a hired gun. Lydia was a teenager at the time, still at college. She and a bunch of friends formed a think tank. Basically it was a hippy convene designed to piss of the RDA in any legal way they could. So one day, when I'm out with a few uniforms having some brews after clocking off, we get swamped by these kids, and this little wiry red head girl comes and dumps a can of blue paint over me. She starts yelling about blood for fuel, usual green finger BS, so I stand up and she just freezes. She's realized what she's done and she can't back out. I was two hundred pounds back then, and I was pissed. Of course in the end she and her friends scattered but later I decided to track down her college. I found out about the think tank and we got to talking. By the time they'd finished telling me about Pandora and the Na'vi from a non-corporate perspective, I was a convert. I terminated my contract with the RDA, just before I was due to go out on rotation to Pandora, and when Lydia got hired by the neuroscience guys she remembered my name and the fact that I'd blown off a three million dollar contract thanks to her. So, eight years awake and five asleep later, here we are."

Norm sat staring at Mendas, jaw slack.

"I didn't see her as being that type," he said quietly, taking a sip of his water.

"What? Passionate? Defiant?" Xavier chuckled, pulling a handkerchief from his pant pocket and wiping sweat from his forehead. "Don't let that clipped manner she projects so efficiently fool you. She cares, and a whole lot too. She spent her youth as a wannabe terrorist for the Na'vi."

The kitchen doors swinging open made Norm sit up alert as Granger came through them, wafting a silver pouch in each hand.

"I've got banana and kiwi here for you, Spellman. You've got two choices, down them now and enjoy the rest of your evening without having to dread them, or save them for desert and enjoy your dinner without the after taste of chemicals trying to disguise themselves as tropical fruit."

"Decisions, decisions." Norm smiled, holding out his hands. Granger threw the packs and he caught them deftly. Pulling the cap off of one he forced it down as the woman sat back down beside him. When he'd drained the pack he followed it swiftly with the other, and felt Granger give him a couple of light pats on the back. Tossing the empty silver packets onto the table with the other one, he attempted to suck his tongue clean. Granger watched him and laughed at the face he was pulling.

"There you are," she said, "Done for the day. You're definitely one of the easier patients I've had." She pulled her legs up, crossing them as she sat on the bench. "Does anyone fancy Chinese food tonight?"

Before anyone could reply there was the unpleasant sound of Max turning around and vomiting. Granger jumped to her feet, running to his side and rubbing his back.

"I wondered how long it would take," she said gently. Xavier had slid along the bench and Bill went and got some paper towels and a mop from the kitchen. "I don't envy you this, mister Patel. It happens to everyone the first time. For a while there though, I thought you were going to manage to hold it in."

When Max was finally done, Xavier volunteered to take him to his quarters. Bill efficiently cleared up the mess, refusing help from either Granger or Norm. The woman went into the kitchen and micro-waved a few burritos. Leaving some on a plate for Bill and Xavier she came out and passed one to Norm, beginning to unwrap her own. She waved towards the lift.

"Come on. Back to the lab. We need to record the data from today." She strode into the elevator and Norm followed obediently, demolishing his burrito as they travelled back up to the lab. When inside Granger strode over to the main computer interface, and as he watched her for a brief moment with her head of red hair and determined demeanour, he was reminded of Grace. He smiled, tossing his burrito wrapper into a waste basket and wiping his hands down his pant legs. He sat beside the woman as she created some new files within the archives and wiped the dusty screen with her shirt sleeve, holding her burrito between her teeth. Flicking on one of the old cameras, she took a bite of her dinner before holding it in her hand and recording a few seconds of herself waggling her fingers into the lens to check it was working. When satisfied she wheeled her chair out of the way and waved Norm over.

"You first. I assume you know how to do this?" Norm slid his chair in line with the camera, nodding.

"Every little detail," she said, blowing her hair out of her face, "especially concerning when you rode with Jake on the Ikran and Mo'at. I wish I knew what she got from that blood. I don't think it's just mysticism."

Tucking into her food she watched carefully as Norm made his video, occasionally prompting him for more detail between mouthfuls. As he reached the point of recalling their being lost in the forest, he paused, feeling his face growing hot. It seemed strangely awkward to put it on file. Granger nudged his chair with her foot, motioning for him to carry on. He did, but he could hear the discomfort in his own voice. Finally, he drew to a close on the description of his hammock and clicked the camera off. The doctor nodded in approval.

"Excellent. Thank you," she said, and rolled her chair over, pushing him along to the edge of the screen. She balled up her paper, throwing it into the bin and started a new video file for herself. She rattled off the details of the day crisply, as though reading them off of paper. When done she saved both the files and turned to look at Norm.

"So, tell me honestly. Was it what you had hoped?" Norm looked back at her with a lop-sided smile.

"It was great," he said. "Pretty much the culmination of fifteen years of work. I never thought I'd get the opportunity after losing my Avatar. But now I have. It was great."

Granger smiled and stood up, flicking off the computer screens.

"Go and get some sleep," she said, getting to her feet. "It's back to school tomorrow and I don't think the princess will appreciate slackers." As she walked past Norm she put a hand on his shoulder briefly. He watched her leave the lab then took a long last look at the link units and felt his face light up. Tomorrow his education as a Na'vi would really begin.


	5. Chapter 5

**And another chapter today. Having a day off work equals muchos writing. Just to say to my readers that your questions will be answered as the story develops! I don't want to give too much away.**

The pair of student Avatars stood shin deep in water, the silt beneath them soothing their aching feet from the day before. Neytiri handed them each a highly polished shaft, the tips fiercely sharp, and took a third from herself from her pa'li, who wandered away contently flicking its long tongue in the scents of the air. She waded thigh deep into the water and peered intensely at the surface, her spear held perfectly still at shoulder height. Her tail tip twitching occasionally as it broke the surface of the lake, she waited and waited. Norm and Granger exchanged a glance but said nothing. But then, after perhaps twenty minutes had passed, the spear sliced through the water with the minimum amount of splash and landed with a dull 'thwunk' in the mud beneath. Neytiri pulled it out with a grunt, wheeling it around to pull the tip out of the water, and strode confidently back towards the pair. On the tip a large, silvery blue fish wriggled a few times, then became still. Norm glanced at his own staff, then at Granger, who seemed nervous.

"To become one of the People you must help to feed them. All food is shared." Neytiri tugged the fish off her tool efficiently, and crouched, laying it upon the grassy ground. Softly she said over it,

"Thank you, Brother. Your spirit goes with Eywa but your body stays behind, to become part of the People." Neytiri straightened up again, looking at her students. "This is a borrowed life, one that we take into ourselves to extend our own lives. One day we will give it back to Eywa, when we, at our own time, die." Norm nodded in understanding slowly. Neytiri turned to him, leaning on her spear.

"Come. You will try first." She took his wrist, pulling him into the water, thought he went willingly. As he walked his tail stirred up the water and Neytiri scowled. "Quieter! They will not come to you."

Granger watched the pair carefully, lowering herself to sit on the ground. She took careful note of what was before her, as the princess corrected Norm's stance, his breathing, the height of his spear. Then slowly she retreated from the water, leaving him just standing there. She called her pa'li over with a couple of clicks, stroking its flank lovingly. Granger chuckled as she saw Norm's facial expression. He was staring at the water as if he could will the fish to come to him, his tongue between his teeth. After a few moments he let out a shout and launched the spear. Neytiri sighed and shook her head, wading into the water again.

"No, Norm, no!" she called. "You go too fast!"

Granger smiled, getting to her feet and turning to look at the direhorse. With a very slow hand she reached up and touched its shoulder, letting out a small breath as she felt its waxy texture. The animal shuffled its feet nervously and the woman ran her hand down its spine, talking to it gently.

"Mawey, girl, mawey. It's alright, I wouldn't hurt you." The animal shuddered then bent its head low, bunting her shoulder with its snout. Granger smiled and carefully ran her hand down its antennae, bringing its queue close to her face to look at it. The little pink fibres undulated within the ear-like pocket. Granger studied them carefully, still cooing words of comfort to the animal.

"She likes you." Granger's head snapped up as she heard Neytiri's voice. She bowed her head, then glanced over her shoulder to see Norm frozen in the water, grinding his teeth with concentration. "You want to try?" The doctor's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?" she said.

"It is not as hard as my mate make it look. Even Norm can ride pa'li." Granger chuckled, setting her spear on the ground.

"I would like to try," she said, bowing her head briefly to Neytiri. The princess patted the animal's back.

"Climb on first. It is easier." The other woman took a deep breath, and with some considerable effort she did so. Shuffling to get comfortable on the natural armour plates that protected the direhorse's spine, she looked over at the water again, smiling warmly as she saw Norm was still in exactly the same position. Neytiri took Granger's hand and placed the pa'li's neural whip in it.

"You know of Tsahaylu?" she said, looking up at her.

"I do," the doctor replied, pulling her braid over her shoulder.

"Good. This helps." Neytiri rubbed the horse's nose. "Try not to be lost in it. Feel her but do not let her swallow you. You must be one, working together to move forwards. When you are ready."

Granger nodded, and after a few moments, brought her queue close to the animal's, watching the fibres weave together. A few milliseconds later she felt a rushing sensation, as though she was being launched out of her body. She closed her eyes, feeling her own weight on the horse beneath her. She could feel its strong feet spreading over the damp ground, the warm air coming out of the many nostrils that ran down its neck, even taste the air that it could taste with its long, thin tongue.

"Speak gently," Neytiri instructed her, patting the pa'li's neck. "One day you will do inside, but not yet. Tell her what to do."

"Walk," Granger said, feeling a rush of delight when the mount did indeed slowly move forwards. She rubbed between its shoulders as it did, and in her soft, slightly nervous voice, gave some more commands. "Turn left. Turn right. To the water. Stop."

The pa'li and rider stood on the edge of the lake, the water lapping at the animal's feet. Granger looked out to Norm, whose tail tip was twitching erratically as he tracked a fish beneath the surface. The woman bit her lip as she watched him throw his spear, struggling not to giggle as he over balanced with it and face planted the water.

"Wade forward a little," she said to the pa'li, "let's go help him up." They moved forward, cutting a smooth line through the wake and Granger leaned down, offering her hand to the sopping Norm. He took it gratefully, heaving himself up and spitting out some mud.

"Thanks," he said, whirling around with a shout. "Hey, I think I got one!" He sloshed over to his spear, dragging it from the mud. He turned over and let out a disappointed sigh. "I swear I had one. Could have only been a fraction too late." Granger smiled, glancing over her shoulder to see Neytiri approaching.

"She's going to make you do it again, Norm," she warned him, turning the horse with a soft 'right'. He looked up at her and reached out to gently pat the pa'li.

"This suits you," he said with a small smile. "You look comfortable up there." The woman felt a little shiver as she felt the pat as though it was on her own skin.

"I should get out of the water," she said softly. "I need to try and learn as much about this as possible. Plus we'll scare your fish away." With a few vocal commands she steered the horse back towards the shore, passing Neytiri as she did, who gave her an encouraging nod.

Back on land she could hear the princess correcting Norm with frustration, her English becoming worse as she got agitated. Granger looked down at the connected queues, trying to memorize all the details. Feeling cocksure of herself she thought 'walk' very clearly and let out a triumphant whoop as the horse moved forward obediently. She wheeled around with the lightest thought and turned to face the lake, to see Norm frozen as before and Neytiri coming out of the water.

"It is going to be long day," she said in exasperation.

* * *

That night as Neytiri led them on their run through the jungle, they still had only one fish, but Norm carried many bruises. Granger would occasionally hang back to help him, which consisted of dragging him by hook or by crook, but eventually, once again, they lost sight of the princess. Panting heavily, Granger leant against a tree, Norm falling beside her to sit.

"Do you think we made it further, tonight?" he asked, coughing a few times.

"I don't know," she replied. "I hope so. We're going to get the rod if we haven't." She wiped her fingers over her forehead, then slid down the tree herself, rearranging her feathered necklaces.

"Just a couple of minutes, then we have to get up."

"I know. I don't want to be caught this time." Granger laughed, taking down her hair and plaiting it around her thick braid. She sank comfortably against their host tree and looked up at the forest, her eyes widening with wonder as for the first time since her arrival, she became aware of the ethereal light that shone from everything. Her golden orbs reflected hues of blue, pale greens, violets, a sweeping forest of jewels it seemed.

"Oh Norm," she sighed, "can you believe that this is all a natural occurrence?" Her companion smiled, getting to his feet and offering her a hand up.

"Come with me," he said, as she took his hand and stood. "Let's see if we can find something." He ducked through the vegetation, leading her completely irreverent of whether they were following Neytiri or not. After a few minutes they came to a glade, and in the free space was a flourishing bed of the ridged war bonnets, shimmering with iridescent blue light.

"Touch it," Norm said excitedly, pushing her towards one of the massive leaves. "Go on." She stepped forward then tapped one of the leaves carefully with a single finger and smiled when rings of light pooled outwards from the contact. The anthropologist came up behind and with a grin grabbed the tip of the leaf and gave it a shake. The bioluminescence ran across from his hand in waves and a few of the other leaves began to glow brighter too as the plant was disturbed. Granger laughed and looked up at Norm who shrugged back at her.

"I appreciate the little things," he said with a lop sided smile. The doctor ducked underneath his arm, skittering around to pat other leaves, until the whole plant was aflame. And this was eventually how Neytiri found them, drawn like a moth to the flame.

"Did I not say you must learn to keep up?" she chastised as she checked them for injury. "You crash through the trees making noise and showing everything where you are. Come, come, we move on still. We will not go back to Hometree yet."

Her students ran behind her, almost falling to their deaths on multiple occasions as she began to lead them over felled trees, weaving between roots, through the tightest knit trees. Granger used the surroundings to push her forwards, the beauty of Pandora's life a welcome distraction to the agony she was feeling. Finally, when they skittered out onto a massive, mossy branch that flushed violet beneath them, looking down to see a drop of several hundred feet, and realized she had led them in a full circle back to the giant tree, the doctor sunk to her knees, letting out a hoarse groan. It took almost a minute for Norm to catch up with them and he fell beside her, looking up at Neytiri, who'd barely broken a sweat.

"Better," she said, "today you try. Tomorrow we will run further."

"Of course we will," Norm mumbled in between drawing great breaths. "What could be more fun?" Neytiri crouched before Norm, tapping his chest.

"This is not just about running, skxawng." She stood up gracefully, and headed towards the main body of the tree. "Do not forget to come and eat with us."

As she ducked inside the tree Norm fell onto his back and Granger laughed wryly.

"I can tell, this is going to be my favourite part of the day," she said, sitting back, and crossing her legs. Looking down at her feet she frowned as she saw they were lacerated and smeared with blood and dirt. Standing wobbily she paced up and down the moss to clean them, and looked down at the prostrate Norm.

"Don't you pass out there, I'm not having you unlink and leaving me to haul your bum to the hammocks." The anthropologist sat up and struggled to his feet, wincing.

"Come on," said Granger, "I don't know about you but I'm starved."

They descended the central spiral of the Hometree together, and when reaching the fire pit settled into the same shadowy spot from the night before. That night when their leaves of food were passed back the portions were slightly larger, and Norm glanced up at Jake, who gave him a friendly smile and a wink. He turned back to his companion who looked up at him with a smirk and held her leaf under his nose.

"Look!" she said, her voice mischievous. "Teylu!"

Norm looked down his nose at the leaf, which was full of what could be two inch long, white shrimp. On closer inspection, however, it became evident that they were in fact giant beetle larvae. His eyes widening, they met Granger's who flashed him her large teeth in a wicked smile.

"I dare you," she said, wafting the leaf. Norm hesitated for a moment, his back burning. He looked over his shoulder and saw the Na'vi who'd brought the food the night before and had stared at the doctor was now watching him very carefully. The anthropologist felt his tail snapping left and right, and defiantly picked up one of the larvae, popping it into his mouth.

"Chew it," Granger grinned. After a few moments hesitation, he did, then made a surprised little noise.

"Hey this is pretty good!"

Quick as a flash Granger whipped her leaf back, and with a brief moment of caution for the first taste, began to eat. Norm chuckled, contently consuming his own and as he did said,

"Hey, you never know, maybe tomorrow we'll be having fish!" The doctor laughed, nudging him with her elbow.

"And I'll be racing pa'li with the big boys!"

After the meal was done Neytiri approached the pair and looked down at the female.

"Lydi'a, you must come with me," she said. "Norm, you may sleep." The pair exchanged a glance and Granger nodded to him, getting to her feet and bowing her head to Neytiri. The princess led her to the very centre of the commons and down between the roots at the very core of the tree, vanishing from sight. With a small frown Norm got to his aching feet and began the long climb to his hammock. As he settled in for the night he looked through the woven fibres of his hammock and across the cavernous trunk of the tree to where to women were sleeping. Fighting to stay awake, it was almost two hours before he saw Granger appear and climb into her own hammock, looking drained. Cautiously Norm poked his head out and risked a small wave to her. She saw it and waved back with an exhausted smile. Satisfied, Norm settled back in the nivi and closed his eyes. Within a matter of seconds he saw the tunnel of crackling lights and was slammed back into his body.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for the patience that those of you who are reading this have exerted. I've been hit with the world's worst writers block so decided to sit back from it for a bit to have a good hard think, and hopefully, over the next few weeks patience will pay off. Much love as always.**

Lydia opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling before rolling out of her bed with a low groan. As her feet touched the cold linoleum floor her felt her toes instinctively curl, goose bumps running up her legs. With a loud yawn and stretch she got to her feet, switching off the shrieking alarm clock on the table beside her bed. The glowing blue numbers shone five a.m back at her, and she wrinkled her nose at it, before shaking off her cotton pyjamas onto the floor and stepping into the white wash cubicle on the other side of her regimental bedroom. She switched on the shower , a burst of icy water hitting her and let out a squeal. As it warmed up and she rinsed her hair, she became aware of what a strange sensation it was, to be so mentally exhausted inside a well rested body. It was as though she'd sat a week's worth of midterms.

When she was done she dressed quickly, scooping her hair into a wet ponytail and jogged to the mess to try and wake up. She found an unshaven Norm already there, protein pack in one had, black coffee in the other. He was reading off of a flat screen, grimacing as he switched between sips from the pack and the coffee. Granger placed a hand upon his shoulder, feeling him flinch under her touch.

"What are you reading?" she asked, patting his shoulder a couple of times then stepping around to stand on the opposite side of the table, looking down at him.

"Just going through some of the old transcript's of Jake's logs. Seeing if there's anything in there which can help with our integration." Norm polished off the last of the pack, coughing a couple of times before looking up at the doctor.

"Did you find anything?" she said.

"Well, mainly, have the princess fall in love with you," he replied with a wry smile. Granger chuckled, wandering towards the kitchen for her own coffee.

"That's that then. Easy."

As she disappeared through the double doors Norm smiled, looking back to the glass sheet of information. Scrolling through it he found very little was actually going in, but he couldn't let it go. If Jake could do this then he, as a man with a doctorate in xeno-anthropology had to be able to. He was dredging his way through a paragraph detailing his friend's first experience with Tsu'tey when Granger reappeared with a steaming mug in hand and gently tugged on his shirt sleeve.

"Leave the desk work behind," she said, nudging him to his feet. "We've got to get linked." Norm followed her obediently as she led the way to the lab, smiling as she yawned like a bear. She drained her coffee, leaving the mug on the floor beside her link unit, and set up their clamshells herself.

"Where's Bill?" Norm asked, glancing around.

"Sill in bed," the woman replied, slipping off her shoes. "He'll be carrying on with Mister Patel today. He'll check in on us every so often though, don't worry. We'll be fine." She pushed open the lid to one unit, waving him in. "You first, I'll make sure you're in before I run the program for myself." Norm pulled off his own boots, climbing onto the comfortable gel pads and felt his cheeks colour slightly as Granger pulled down the interface cage and gently pushed his head onto the bed. As she closed the lid she flashed him a brief smile but before he had chance to return it he was isolated within the pod. As the familiar low humming began he closed his eyes and within a few moments he was rushing forwards in a river of light.

When he next opened his eyes he was looking up at the mottled blue backs of the families in the nivi above him. Sitting up he felt his own sway slightly beneath him and he glanced back over his shoulder to where he'd seen Granger lie the night before. After a few minutes of watching with baited breath, he saw her glossy head of hair rise and she raised a hand to him in greeting as he caught her eye. He wiggled his fingers in a wave back then shuffled out of the hammock and teeteringly walked along the branch it was strung to. As he descended to the commons he saw Granger alighting from the central spiral too and giving an enormous yawn. Above them the younger Na'vi were also stirring, gently shaking their families awake. Granger took Norm's forearm and led him out of the columned roots and into the reddish glow of the rising sun, taking a few deep breaths. Rubbing the back of his neck Norm looked down at her, admiring the way the first streaks of light fell across her face and lit up her eyes.

"Good to get some clean air," she said, stretching her elegant arms over her head. "You noticed how it tastes funny in the compound? Never realised it before…" She looked up at Norm who was nodded as they heard a shout.

"Hey kittens, you're up! I'm so proud." They turned around to see Jake heading towards them, a satchel strapped diagonally across his torso, an array of arrows in his hand and three bows strung over his shoulder. Reaching into his satchel he tossed them a swollen bluish fruit each.

"Eat up," he said, pulling out another for himself and taking a bite with a slurp on the end of it. "You're all mine today." Obediently the pair downed their ripe breakfasts, the quickly rising sun beginning to warm their backs. As Norm smirked at Granger sucking her fingers clean noisily Jake held a bow out to him, tapping him on the shoulder with it lightly. The anthropologist took it with a mumbled word of thanks, hooking it over his shoulder. His companion received one as well, looking at the simple curve of polished wood admiringly, her eyes large. With a nod from Jake she swung it over her shoulder, an excited smile dancing on her lips.

"We'll head out a little way from Hometree," Jake said, "I don't want anyone getting clipped by you guys. Follow me." He strode confidently into the forest, allowing the students room to catch up with a swift enough pace. As they came into a clearing ringed by gnarled trees, Jake reached into his satchel and pulled out a length of woven rope. Swinging it over his head he looped it around a low tree branch and gave it a sharp tug to ensure it was sturdy. Then he took one of a selection of bone pins out of his braided hair and tied it to the end of the rope, before then producing one of the fat fruits from his bag and stabbing the pin into it. Pulling the rope through he knotted it and left the fruit swinging as he turned to the pair.

"We're going to start small and inanimate," he said, handing them an arrow each. "When you can pip this thing from fifty paces we'll move up."

After much fumbling and apologising Jake managed to get Lydia to notch her arrow then set about straightening her back, lining her arms and her sight up, showing her how to breathe correctly. Norm felt his tail swish erratically as his friend tapped the woman's stomach and pulled the top of her tail firmly to straighten her out.

"Ok, you're ready," the Ole'eytkan finally said, stepping away from her to stand beside Norm. "Loose when you feel comfortable." The pair watched the female take a few deep breaths, blowing some fly away hair out of her eyes. With a flinch she loosed the arrow, and watched it soar straight past the fruit and landing in the tree with a dull 'thunk'. The woman wrinkled her nose, lowering the bow.

"Useless.." she muttered, turning to Jake and Norm. Jake shook his head, producing another arrow for her.

"You're not useless," he said, helping her notch the new weapon. "You've just got to learn to follow through. Don't move your arms until you've seen the arrow hit home." He slipped his hands under her upper arms, lifting them slightly, then ran his fingers down to the wrist that was holding the bow and Norm was suddenly caught by his tail swinging so hard it slapped his thigh. He looked down at his feet, cheeks hot, as an oblivious Jake took his place beside him again and nodded to Granger. This time when she loosed she grazed the skin of the fruit and her teacher let out a triumphant "Whoop!". The woman turned to them with a bright smile and Norm looked up at her, clapping a couple of times. She ran over to them with deft footsteps and Jake nudged Norm forwards.

"Your turn," he said. As he guided Norm through using the bow, the anthropologist glanced at Granger more often than he realised. She'd settled on the floor, her long legs stretched out in front of her, her bow balanced in her lap. She was looking straight past him, instead watching the instructing Ole'eytkan like a hawk. Norm didn't even realise Jake was telling him to go until he was given a light tap around the back of the head.

"You here, Spellman?" he chuckled, taking a few steps back. "Come on, stick that thing." He sat on the ground beside Granger and Norm felt a strange surge of aggression. He let the arrow soar and was stunned as it sliced straight through the fruit, pinning it to the tree. For a long moment he simply stared it at, globules of tacky juice dripping from the shaft. Then gradually he became aware of Jake standing beside him, talking to him gently.

"That was great Norm, really great." He carefully lowered Norm's arms, and after a moment was able to catch his eye. "Are you ok?" he whispered. His friend nodded, taking a couple of deep breaths and mumbled,

"I don't know what happened…" Jake patted him on the back.

"Do you think you can do it again?" he asked carefully.

"I- I don't know." Norm fumbled with his bow as Jake handed him a new arrow. He felt his fingers shaking as he tried to notch it and risked a glance at Granger, who looked up at him with her toothy smile. He managed to return it with a small, lop-sided one and slipped the arrow onto the springy wood of the bow, drawing it back a little. Jake gave his shoulder a brief squeeze and led him through prepping the shot again, then took a few steps back.

This time when Norm loosed he only clipped the edge of the decimated fruit but Jake nodded and said,

"Really good. You're way ahead of what I expected to be honest." Norm settled on the ground beside Granger as Jake replaced the fruit with a new one, twisting the arrows out of the tree and stopping the holes with a putty of fibres and some waxy substance. As they sat together Granger lay a hand on his shoulder and said softly,

"Have you been practising on the sly?" Norm shook his head, his cheeks hot and the woman grinned, giving his shoulder a slight squeeze. "Then I shall have to work particularly hard to catch up."

The remainder of the day passed in a peaceful reverie, Jake firmly encouraging them through the finer points of Na'vi archery. There was much more than simply twanging the bow string and hoping for the best. It was an elegant art, one that required great sense of mind. They had to feel the shots, the movement of the air around them, the power that would be required to clear the distance to their target with enough speed and accuracy. It was, of course, not something that could be understood in one day of practice, but by the time the sun was beginning to soften through the canopy of the forest, Jake was satisfied that one day they would, and told Neytiri as much when she appeared out of the shadows.

Her face glimmering as though peppered with stars, she looked Norm and Granger up and down, their shoulders and backs aching from the exertion of their education that day.

"It is true, I suppose," she said, with a hint of mischievous delight about her, "that every sky person with heavy feet should be given equal chance before Eywa." She looked over at Jake briefly with what could only be described as adoration and Norm found himself watching them large eyed as Jake returned Neytiri's gaze with a warm and genuinely loving smile. During this brief exchange Granger kept her eyes very deliberately upon her feet.

After the moment had passed the princess turned to her two students and said matter-of-factly;

"You know what we do."

They had already started running before Neytiri's own feet had chance to leave the ground.

* * *

Such was the way that many days to follow passed. They began to run together in a blur, gradually building to weeks. There was a myriad to learn, lifetimes of knowledge that Norm and Granger were required to absorb like sponges. And slowly, it did become easier. The gruelling runs at the end of each day began to feel less strenuous as their feet toughened, and once, to his great embarrassment and her amusement, Lydia caught Norm admiring his developing calves. The archery began to become second nature, their arrows striking home fluidly and accurately until Jake moved them up to moving targets, swinging several fruits from the trees. Neytiri, as future Tsahik, focused particularly on their spiritual education, teaching them about the ebb and flow of energies within the forest. One day she even allowed them to connect with Hometree itself through the intricate root system, and Granger was stunned to find she was able to hear and feel the presence of all the Na'vi living within it.

Every night though, she and Neytiri would vanish between the commons together, without so much as a hushed word of what they were doing to Norm. At first he was tempted to question the doctor but soon accepted he was not supposed to know.

When they would each night return to their real bodies in the Hell's Gate compound Max would be waiting for them in the mess, and as time passed, he was becoming less resistant to his Avatar simulation and it could even be dared said that he was enjoying himself. As the first month closed he was waiting with baited breath for the day he would be allowed to move beyond the computer representation of his Avatar and into the real thing. Bill and he were also become steadfast friends, the little Jewish man having come out of his shell and apparently possessing a sharp sense of humour. It was he who during the first week of Max's training had jokingly taped a paper air-sickness bag to his glasses "Just is case".

Norm found that as the time spent with his new companions grew, life became pleasurable once more. It seemed an age ago since he had once stood staring at a bottle of paracetamol midway through his third year of being stranded, and wondering 'what if?'…

One of his favourite things soon became the hour or so every night that he and Granger spent in the quiet confines of the lab, recording their logs. She would sit next to him silently for the most part, giving him an occasional nudge of the elbow if she wanted to press him for more details. In the fluorescent glow of the computer screens he would sometimes glance up at her as she would bring her face close to his, reaching over his shoulder to sweep her fingers up the glass, pulling up old files. In the bluish light the screens emitted he sometimes took note of how her freckled skin had grown a shade lighter due to all the time she'd been spending in the link beds, her flyaway red hair tickling his neck as she would lean over him to work. He learnt to treasure these moments, when he could snatch a short while alone with an individual he was learning to respect for the person she was, not just for the ideal he had held of her when she had arrived on Pandora. She was no longer just human contact, she was a friend, and Norm relished in the gluttonous amount of time he got to spend with her thanks to her research.

All in all the trio from the neuroscience facility had breathed new vitality into the lives of Max Patel and Norm Spellman, who had, truthfully, been at the point of breaking.

Unfortunately, Miles Quaritch had been right about one thing in his opinion of Pandora; given the opportunity it would shit you out dead with zero warning.


	7. Chapter 7

**Yay, another update! Had this one stashed in my brain since day one but had to get to an appropriate time for it. please RnR guys! Much love as always **

Granger sat dozing in the link lab, strewn over a pair of chairs. On her lap was a collection of papers that she'd gathered in the month since arriving on Pandora. Amongst them were transcripts of her logs, photographs, data sheets of the electrical and chemical information that had been relayed bag to the lab computers from the Avatars. Her first four weeks on the moon had been more than testing and in a brief moment of privacy every now and then she allowed herself the luxury of collapsing into a heap. Through the shuttered windows of the lab the first dove grey streaks of sun were creeping across her work, and as a few sheets scattered onto the floor the metallic swish of the double doors broke the silence. Xavier crept in, an unlit cigar hanging from his bottom lip. Smiling at his young friend he padded over and gathered up the papers, leaning over to press a bristled kiss to her forehead. She let out a low groan and her Mediterranean blue eyes fluttered open, looking up at him blearily.

"Xav.." she mumbled, brushing her scruffy hair out of her face with a laboured yawn.

"Rise and shine, sweetness," he smiled, tucking a few wispy curls behind her ear. "This is a bad habit you're getting into." Granger propped herself up in her seat, looking down at the papers in her lap with a sigh.

"I know," she said, her voice still hoarse with the dregs of sleep. "There just don't seem to be enough hours in the day anymore." She piled up the sheets and set them on the desk, smiling as Xavier passed her the ones he'd retrieved.

"It might be time to prioritise, Doc," he smirked, digging around in his pocket and producing a book of matches. He struck one deftly and with a few careful puffs breathed life into the cigar. Granger made a face at him, laughing softly.

"I can't believe I had to equate cargo room for those damn things," she chuckled, getting up and stretching her back with a small "Oof," as it clicked a couple of times.

"Hey, we've all got to have our creature comforts," Xavier retorted with a throaty laugh. "You've got your underpants, I've got my smokes." He took a long draw from the cigar, savouring it for a moment before blowing out curls of blue smoke with a little noise of satisfaction. Granger grinned, nudging him with an elbow.

"My knickers will wash," she said. "What will you do when those run out?"

"Get Na'vi imports. Don't tell me the stuff they smoke is just for ritual." He winked at her, leaning lazily against the central rail of the lab as he smoked. Granger tutted, shaking her head with a wry smile.

"I've got to go feed the babies," she said, shuffling out the lab with a slap on her friend's belly as she passed him. He sniggered as he watched her go, feeling a small twinge of concern as he noted her weight was dropping..

Granger emerged into what used to be the basketball court a short while later, feeling a wave cool hair hit her as the airlocks opened. She was now standing in a temporary shelter made of a poly based plastic, that ran from the air lock in a long transparent tunnel. A few feet left of where she stood an exo-unit shuddered as it filtered and cooled the air within the greenhouse-like structure. As she stepped further in there came an excited collection of peeps and coos. Smiling, she lifted the lid off of a steel bin that stood in the centre of the run and grabbed a couple of fistfuls of corn feed. As she scattered it around her cotton pumps the twenty or so bantams flocked to her, pecking and scratching at the food and clucking gratefully. Stepping gingerly around them she checked each of the small grass padded boxes that the hens slept in and with gentle fingers collected any eggs that had been laid, holding them in her tee-shirt like it was a basket. From the furthest corner of the makeshift coop a blue plumed cockerel sauntered over and pecked at Granger's shoelaces a couple of times before wandering to the corn feed, preening himself vainly in between mouthfuls. The doctor smiled fondly at her feathered flock, then cautiously returned to the compound and by the time the others had risen from their beds the smell of omelettes was wandering seductively from the kitchens.

As the small team sat around a steel table together eating, Granger allowed herself a silent moment of contentment. The men were laughing and joking together noisily, albeit Norm a little more withdrawn than the others. The doctor eyed him carefully, taking a few mental notes. He'd put on a good ten pounds in weight thanks to her firm insistence of him taking the protein supplements and weekly weigh ins, but he looked as drawn as she felt, and as his almond coloured hair was growing out it hung over his forehead, emphasising the heavy shadows around his eyes. As the other three disappeared into the kitchens to clear their plates and brew more coffee, she reached across the table and in an uncharacteristic moment of gentleness lay her fingertips on the back of his hand. He looked up at her suddenly, as though startled.

"Do you need a break?" she asked softly, her china coloured brow furrowed with genuine concern. "You don't have to come out today."

Norm smiled at her, pleasantly surprised, and shook his head.

"I can't afford to miss a single day, we both know that," he mumbled, resting his chin in his other hand, elbow on the table.

"You can if you need to. I mean it, Norm. You're going to make yourself ill." She looked at him seriously, a curl of her hair falling over her cheek as she spoke. His smile broadened slightly and he turned the hand she was touching over, resting his thumb on her fingers as they lay comfortably in his palm.

"I'm as ok as you are, Doctor Granger," he said, and saw her smirk slightly, getting his point. "I can keep going. We need this. For a lot of reasons now." The woman nodded, letting out a small sigh of resignation.

"If this goes too far though, I'll pull the plug. I'm not having you put yourself at risk."

"I know," Norm replied, slumping onto his elbow a little more. "Though don't expect me to go willingly." He flashed her one of his goofy smiles and for a moment they sat in a comfortable silence. It was quickly broken by Xavier sweeping out of the kitchen however, Max and Bill in tow. Granger suddenly stiffened, snatching her hand away from Norm's and slapping it into her lap under the table. She jumped to her feet, all business now, and Norm looked up at her with a strange flash of emotion in his eyes. She avoided looking back at him as she clambered out from behind the table, her voice authoritative as she said;

"We'll head on down to the link lab now. Max, good luck today!" She flashed Patel a stiff, toothy smile, who seemed oblivious to the falseness of it and he beamed back at her.

"We'll be sure to take photos of the bigger, bluer me for you, Doctor," he said proudly as Bill gave him a prod.

"Let's go, skxawng," the older man chuckled, clearly proud of his Na'vi quip. "I want you on a super sized treadmill today."

The five parted ways to head to their respective labs, Xavier following Bill and Max, burning with an eager curiosity to see Max's first genuine link up down at the infirmary.

Down in the main link lad Granger and Norm silently set up their own clamshells, an awkward weight in the air between them. The doctor climbed into her own without even checking if Norm was settled, something she had always done before today, and he was uncomfortable to find how much it pained him. As he climbed into his own unit, he felt a pressure on his chest that unsettled him even more, and glanced across at her bed with a despondent sigh before pulling his lid down.

* * *

In the late afternoon sun Neytiri, Jake and their pair of students were enjoying a rare self-indulgent pleasure. So great was the heat that day that the elders had decided that the most productive thing to do was to help break Granger and Norm of some of their habitual health and safety concerns through teaching them to cliff dive. They had taken to it with more vivacity than had been expected, and the morning's awkwardness was soon forgotten as they took repeated running jumps off the top of a churning waterfall, screaming with delight as they plummeted down to the bright blue water below. Bursting through the froth tinted blue by the sediments the waterfall was whisking up the foursome all concluded that while it was a day where very little of practical use was being learnt, it could still not be time better spent.

As Granger and Norm scrambled up the side of the waterfall, racing each other to the top for what had to be their twentieth jump that day, he snatched out to catch her tail and she shrieked in laughter, whipping it out of his grip and turning to face him with a playful hiss.

"Dirty cheat!" she cried and shouted in indignation as he seized the opportunity to skitter past her, his considerable height advantage on her even in their Avatar bodies meaning he was stood panting at the top of the waterfall a good ten seconds ahead of her. She giggled as she reached him, snapping her feline teeth at him and giving him a slap on his wet chest.

"I demand a rematch!" she declared loudly, then flopped onto the grassy ground, taking deep breaths through her laughter. When she'd rested a few moments she crawled to the edge and lay on her belly to peer over. Norm fell onto his front beside her, following her line of sight. In the lagoon at the bottom Neytiri and Jake were embracing tenderly, until she splashed him suddenly and dipped under the water as he lunged after her. Norm and Granger exchanged a mischievous glance.

"Cannon ball?" he said simply.

"Cannon ball," she agreed. They got to their feet and linked hands securely, winding their fingers together. Taking a few steps back for a run up, they flew off the top of the fall, Norm yelling

"Geronimo!" at the top of his lungs by way of warning of the impending impact.

After a few seconds he exploded up out of the water, taking a deep lungful of air and grinning ear to ear. He whirled around in the water, realising his hand was empty of Granger's. Coughing and spluttering from the tidal wave that had hit them on the pair's impact, Neytiri and Jake were beginning to launch a counter attack, before quickly realising their friend was being filled with a surge of panic.

"Can you see her?!" he cried, turning around in circles, searching the surface for Granger. Neytiri stiffened suddenly and dived deep into the lagoon, as Jake grabbed Norm's shoulders, shaking him to make him look in his eyes.

"When did you let go?!" he shouted over the noise of the waterfall. Norm shook his head in panic. He didn't know.

Jake swore loudly and disappeared under the surface as well, his powerful arms pulling him far away from the bobbing Norm. The anthropologist wheeled in the water a couple of times more, then took the deepest breath he could, submerging himself to search. The pressure of the water on his eyes immediately blurred his vision but he forced himself to keep them open, allowing the current to carry him along. As he was rushed along, his back grazing upon the stony bottom of the lagoon, he felt what he thought at first was water weed snatching at his ankle. A few bubbles escaping his mouth in surprise, he forced himself to turn around with all the strength he could muster in his arms and saw it was something black. Snatching out he caught a fistful of what was in-fact hair and kicked his legs as hard as he could, feeling his lungs burning as he fought the current. Feeling his fingers close around a limb he clasped them tight as possible and kicked towards the surface, dragging the dead weight with him. As he broke out into the hot air he gasped, his head hit by a searing pain that split his skull right down the centre. Yelling incomprehensibly he hauled Granger out of the water too and thrashed his way to the silt slick embankment, lowering her down as gently as he could on her back. He could hear Neytiri calling to Jake in Na'vi, their frenzied splashing as they cut through the water to get to him. He was already tipping Granger's head back, checking her airway with two fingers before he began pumping her chest aggressively, all the while talking to her, begging her to still be in there.

As Jake clamboured out of the water and ran to Norm's side, Neytiri crouching at the other female's feet and praying in a bubbling torrent of words to Eywa, Norm compressed her chest with all the strength he could muster and after perhaps thirty seconds, to his great relief the Avatar blurted out a flurry of water. Norm quickly rolled her on her side so she didn't choke, stroking her face. There wasn't a mark upon her but she didn't open her eyes, entirely still aside from her ragged breathing.

"She's de-linked," he breathed, feeling his heart slow to a more comfortable pace. "Oh God, I have to get back to her! I-"

Norm had begun to get to his feet when suddenly his eyes rolled back in his head and his Avatar fell to the ground, utterly silent.

* * *

Lydia Granger burst out of her clamshell link unit, gasping in shock as she rolled out, falling heavily onto the floor. Before she had time to orientate herself she felt a powerful pair of hand pull her to her feet, gripping her upper arms painfully tight.

"I had to disrupt the link!" a voice was crying, and the woman slowly became aware it was Bill and he was frantic. Shaking her head to try and sharpen herself up she looked at him, dazed, and felt her stomach flip as she saw sheer terror in his eyes.

"What is it?" she fumbled, pulling away from his hold and righting herself.

"It's Xavier…" he stammered in reply and tore his gaze from hers. "He's in the infirmary, Max has him. I had to get to you…"

Granger's eyes widened and she broke into a run, smashing her hand into Norm's emergency stop button on his unit without even pausing. She flew at breakneck speed to the infirmary, her fiery hair whipping behind her as ran. As she burst shoulder first into the door of the infirmary she felt that morning's eggs rise in her chest as her eyes fell upon Xavier stretched out on a bed, Max standing over him and beating his chest with his fist.

"Oh God, no!" It slipped from her lips without permission and she froze on the spot. Max's head snapped up and she could see he was yelling at her but nothing could break through the strange haze that had locked itself around her. It was only as she saw a flash of Xavier's face and how blue he was that she was able to move her feet again and dashed to the bed, knocking Max away and taking over the compressions, grunting as she felt the pain in her shoulders from the exertion.

"He was complaining of muscle ache, in his arm," Max said stuntedly, wringing his hands. "Then stabbing, and he just- he just went down."

"Have you used epinephrine?!" Granger choked, before shifting position to blow in Xavier's mouth twice. Max felt his throat tighten as he spoke.

"We tried, it didn't work…" he whispered. He ran his hands through his mop of curly hair, feeling utterly helpless as he watched the woman work.

"Get the defibrillator!" she screamed, her voice panic stricken. As Max pulled the unit over with shaking hands the door to the infirmary burst open again and Norm and Bill ran in. Norm froze in horror as he beheld the scene before him, Bill sprinting past him to help Max with the defib unit.

"Charge it!" Granger barked, snatching the pads, ignoring the fact they had already been used once. She slapped them onto Xavier's front and side and in a blur of sharp orders had them shock him once… Twice… Three and four times…

As she was forcing them to charge it for a fifth burst Norm came to the sickening realisation it was never going to work and silently crossed the room in two strides. Encircling his arms around the woman's waist he dragged her away from the table, fighting her with every inch of his body. She was screaming like a wild animal, thrashing against him, trying to claw her way back. With a silent look to Bill and Max he pulled her out of the infirmary and into the elevator, slamming his palm on the button panel, then hitting the emergency stop after it had been moving for a few seconds. Granger spun in his grip, beating him on the chest with all her strength, roaring at him to let her go, fighting to keep the tears that were welling in her eyes from falling. Norm silently would his fingers into her hair, pulling her close, stroking the base of her neck as he felt his own eyes beginning to burn. He began to speak to her very softly, saying her name over and over at first.

"Lydia. Lydia…"

"Let me go, you spiteful bastard!" she spat, slamming her fists into his chest. He ignored her, still stroking her in the tiny soothing gesture, cautiously pressing his forehead to hers.

"Lydia," he whispered. "He's gone, Lydia. We can't bring him back."

She was shaking her head, her voice cracking.

"He's not gone! He can't be! His health has always been perfect, he can't be!"

"Lydia…"

"Don't say it anymore, Norm. God, please don't say it!"

"Lydia… He's gone."

He felt her suddenly buckle in his arms and caught her weight before she could fall, pressing her to his chest hard. There was a moment of horrendous silence, then she began sobbing, in a way he had never her thought her capable of. Carefully Norm sank to the floor of the elevator, taking her with him, cradling her in his lap like a tiny rag doll as she poured her grief over him in noisy, piercing torrents. He was rocking her gently, allowing his own tears to silently fall, saying her name over and over and over again, his hands knitted into her fiery tresses to tighten his grip on her.

"Lydia. Lydia..."


	8. Chapter 8

**My usual massive thank you to all of you taking the time to read this and leave reviews. I'm really keen to work this fic all the way to the end but all your lovely responses keep me writing at a decent pace. Though I might go quiet for a few days now, got some trips and a wedding upcoming. But I'll try to keep scribbling in the meantime. Thanks again, all!**

It was a terrible moment of finality when Bill closed the door to the incinerator. The two days since Xavier's collapse had passed in a blur of pain for Lydia particularly. The first morning she had taken it upon herself to do his autopsy, the mask over her face dampened with tears as she worked. She refused any help from Max, instead locking herself within the infirmary to work alone. When she finally emerged she quietly told the men who were gathered waiting for her it was sudden cardiac death, as a result of an arrest. Without Xavier's records and family history she could find no obvious cause for the tragedy and as she was done informing the others she stormed away, grabbing an exo-pack and slamming her way out of the compound. Still in her scrubs and apron smeared with blood she stood out in the open for well over an hour, then disappeared with her paperwork and didn't come back to them until Xavier's funeral.

Now, as her best friend was disintegrating into naught but ash she stood trapped within the bubble of her pain. Totally silent she stared blankly at the three inch thick steel door of the incinerator, beyond the point of weeping. Her eyes were like two hollow wells in her grey face, her lips pressed together tightly, blanched and thin as she turned away first, unable to stand it anymore. Norm watched her go, opening his mouth as though to say something, then paused, and looked to Max and Bill.

"I have to go," he breathed, and Bill gave him a silent nod, folding his arms over his chest as he looked back at the incinerator. As Norm left following Granger's path, he heard Bill singing in a low voice, the flow of Hebrew soothing to their anguished hearts.

Norm found Granger in Xavier's quarters, sat upon his bed. She was picking at the hospital style corners, a silver oblong resting in her lap about the size of a pencil case. He knocked quietly on the door frame, and she looked up at him, her eyes eerily void of emotion.

"Come in," she said simply.

"Thanks.." He wondered into the room and without being invited sat on the bed beside her. "What can I do?" he asked gently. She shook her head, undoing the nearest corner of the bed and tugging on the sheets to make it look more lived in.

"Alright," Norm breathed, and folded his hands in his lap, simply sitting beside her.

After a while she picked up the silver canister and popped open the top, sliding out a fat cigar and rolling it between her thumb and finger. Reaching into the breast pocket of the simple tailored black shirt she was wearing, she produced a match book, and looked at Norm.

"Have you ever smoked?" she asked softly, her voice strained.

"Nope," he replied simply, looking back at her.

"Me neither," Lydia said with a small and empty smile. She lifted the cigar to her lips, biting off the tip, then struck a match and held it with shaking hands. With obvious inexperience she eventually managed to get it to smoulder, then took it out of her mouth and stared at it for a long time.

"I hated that he smoked," she said, coughing slightly. "Such a filthy habit…" She held the cigar between her fingers and blew across the end, making the embers within it glow a brighter red. "If I'm honest though, I became quite attached to the smell. It was how I knew he was near…" Granger closed her eyes for a moment, fighting tears, then took a small draw from the cigar and blew out blue curls, coughing again a couple of times. Norm watched her, a silence falling between them for a good twenty minutes. As Lydia burned through the first half inch or so of the cigar her eyes began to well and he passed her an ash tray from the bedside locker. She balanced it on her knee, occasionally flicking grey flecks into it.

One hour closed and she was still going, and as the cigar reached the halfway mark a few tears spilled over. She wiped them away angrily, and Norm gingerly lay a hand on the small of her back, rubbing in soothing circles.

As she finally approached the end of the cigar, almost two hours after the had started, she set the stub in the ash tray and shuffled back on the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging her legs. Norm set the tray back onto the cabinet and turned to look at her. She was looking up at the ceiling, a couple of tears snaking down her cheeks, but she was smiling, and there was some new serenity about her. Cautiously he climbed onto the bed properly, sitting cross legged opposite her, resisting the urge to take her hand. Eventually she broke the silence.

"I have to send a message to his family."

"We can relay it whenever you're ready," Norm said softly.

"Today," she said. "I need to do it today."

"Ok."

She wiped her face, taking a few deep breaths, looking around the room.

"Would you help me?" she said, without looking back at him.

"Of course," Norm replied with a wavering smile. "What do you need?"

"Would you help me pack his things up, please?"

"If that's what you want."

"It is," she sighed, and slid off the bed, beginning to gather up the clothes Xavier had left strewn over the floor.

Over the afternoon they worked in silence. Lydia tailor folded all of the clothing whilst Norm went through the drawers, stacking his papers, photographs, touching everything with delicate, respectful hands. They taped everything up in the cardboard boxes which it had originally arrived in and stacked them in one corner, then the woman stripped the bed, depositing the sheets in the laundry room they shared. When she returned to the room she was struck by how bare and impersonal it was. Only the lingering smell of smoke remained, in part contributed by her. Norm stood in the centre, his hands hanging limply by his sides. He looked totally lost now it was done. Lydia looked up at him, feeling drawn.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"It's ok," he replied, rubbing a hand through his mop of hair.

"I miss him so much…" The doctor could feel herself crumbling again and closed her eyes, hating it. She heard Norm cross the room and felt his cool hands on her arms, squeezing slightly.

"He loved you," he said as comfortingly as he could. "He'd be proud of how well you're doing."

"I loved him too…" she mumbled, and let her head fall against Norm's chest. "I don't know what to do now. I can't make myself think."

"Do you want to go home?" Norm said softly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and hugging her gently. He felt her shake her head into his chest.

"He'd never forgive me if I abandoned what we came here to do," she said into his shirt.

"Then you have to keep going. If not for you then for him. Come back to the Na'vi with me and find a cure for nerve degeneration. Save millions of lives. Restore millions of families." Norm lifted her face, his finger under her chin, and smiled at her gently, fighting the painful wave of emotion he could feel rising within his chest. "You told me once you came here to work. So work, and do it in his name."

Lydia gazed back up at him, and he could practically see the cogs turning as her delicate brow furrowed in thought. He wished he could hear what she was thinking, so he could help her more. His inexperience as a grief counsellor was making him feel shaky as she studied him with her intense blue eyes. They were blood shot from crying but still piercing enough that he found the way she was looking at him unnerving.

"Don't let grief make you selfish…" she breathed, thinking out loud. Norm nodded slightly and brushed his thumb over her cheek, wiping away a tear track.

"It'll never stop hurting. But I promise you, it will get easier to deal with the hurt, so long as you don't let it pin you down."

Lydia reached up, pulling away his hand, something in her stiffening as she did.

"I'm going to go up to the main hub and send a message to his mother and sister. Bad enough that it's going to take months to get to them, I can't put it off anymore."

Norm nodded silently, and as she left the room without another word he felt his chest might burst. He thought about following her, but decided against it. He thought about waiting for her in the room but decided against that too. In the end he went to the link lab and without bothering to leave a post it telling anyone he was fine ran the programming and climbed into a clam shell, going to hunt for some kind of peace.

* * *

As he opened his eyes he quickly realised his Avatar had not been taken to his nivi. Instead he was looking up into the coil of a gargantuan root, and could smell the intoxicating odour of some sort of incense filling his nostrils. After a few moments her forced himself to sit up, feeling a little shaky. He was resting on a bed of woven war bonnet leaves and as he felt something touching his leg, glanced down to see that Lydia's Avatar was there too, curled up on it's side as though simply sleeping peacefully.

"We were beginning to think you would no longer come back," an aged voice said. Norm's gaze whipped up and he felt a jolt of surprise when he saw Mo'at looking back at him, crouched across from them in the peculiar hollow. Around her were painted skins that gave off a soft bluish glow, stretched between smaller roots that spun up from the silvery bed of earth they were sat upon. Mo'at had a red shroud around her shoulders that was thin as gossamer, and streaks of sanguine coloured paint smeared over her prominent cheek bones.

"They brought you here for prayers," she said simply, getting to her feet. She turned away from him and Norm realised there was a sort of alter or table behind her, scattered with seeds, feathers, and some rich brown bowls. She brought one of these over to Norm now, thrusting it into his hands. Inside there was a tacky, cloudy liquid, a few purple petals settled on the top.

"Drink," Mo'at instructed. "You have not eaten for many days. This will give you strength." He sipped from the bowl obediently and was pleasantly surprised that even though it was very sweet it was also refreshing and tasted sort of green, like cut grass or the smell of spring leaves.

When the bowl was empty he got to his feet, feeling a bit more sturdy, and looked down at Lydia's Avatar with a twinge of guilt.

"Where is she?" Mo'at asked, once again cutting right to the point.

"Mourning," Norm replied simply, knowing he could hide, nor attempt to hide anything from this woman.

"Sky people's death hurts more," the Tsahik observed, something matter-of-fact about her voice. "They try to forget it. They do not see where the life goes, they refuse to believe. This is why it hurts. Because there is no hope, no memory. Only the self left behind." Norm nodded, trying to ignore the heaviness in his heart for Lydia he'd brought with him.

"I will send my daughter to your woman," Mo'at continued, turning her back on him to rearrange a few things on her alter. "She will show her how to celebrate life." Norm could feel his cheeks colouring at the way she spoke about Lydia but let it slide as a moment of bad grammar.

"Can I leave?" he asked, looking towards the massive roots above him and seeing an opening between them.

"Go. But do not come back into this place without instruction." He nodded obediently, thought about thanking her, then thought better and instead raised his arms over his head and with a grate heave pulled himself out from between the roots and crawled into what was in-fact the commons. He realised suddenly that he'd just been where Neytiri was secreting Lydia away to every night and cursed himself for not being more observant as to what was down there.

As he got to his feet he looked around and saw that tribal life was blissfully continuing as normal. Near the fire pit a group of young hunters were butchering a kill and cooking off some of the more tender cuts of meet that would not keep. A couple of children ran past his legs, shrieking and laughing, pulling a makeshift kite along between them and as they ran out into the sun he smiled fondly when he saw a maternal looking woman chastising them, which they of course completely ignored.

Norm took a few deeps breaths, knowing he wanted to avoid being seen by Jake and Neytiri at all costs at the moment. He'd linked up purely out of selfishness, because he couldn't stand floundering in his own skin anymore. And so with a few careful glances to make sure they had not already seen him, he bolted out of the columns of Hometree and ran full pelt into the forest. As deftly as he could now, after so much practise with the princess, he scaled a wide tree trunk, using cat's ears for support, then darted down the branches and leaping to the next one, not even stopping to look for footholds. He trusted his body now, and all he wanted to do was run. Not think, just move, as far as he physically could, until he fell from exhaustion. He had to leave Norm Spellman the xeno-anthropologist, Norm Spellman the weak, spineless human, Norm Spellman who was terrified of a woman's grief far behind in the Hell's Gate compound and be simply Na'vi. He would have given everything to have all the savagery of Pandora on his back rather than have to look into those eyes again and feel his very soul was being read like a book.

He raced through the tree tops, leaves whipping his skin, sweat misting on his back and face, and for a short, stolen time, revelled in being truly free.


End file.
